Click on the picture above to see photos from The Bostelle Collection.

By JOHN CHAMBLESS In the memory, I am alone in a cavernous space, watching water drip into a bucket from a hole in the roof. It was the first time I was in Tom Bostelle's rambling studio on the banks of the Brandywine Creek in Pocopson, Pennsylvania. My father and Tom had a mutual friend, so, at the age of 6, I must have been invited to an opening at the studio. I don't remember the art, but I remember thinking how odd it was that the rain was coming inside. I felt that same sense of unfamiliarity -- and butterflies -- when, in the late 1980s, I again bravely re-entered Tom Bostelle's domain. Every artist I had ever interviewed for the Daily Local News had mentioned him in passing -- some called him an inspiration, some regarded him as a crank. In any case, I was intrigued by his artwork. It was grim, dark, satirical, bursting with energy and purpose. His "shadow" figures packed a novel's worth of character into the slant of a shoulder or a well-chosen gesture. Tom turned out to be a gregarious host and a charming man. He seemed to know more about art than any college professor. His opinion of himself was alternately egocentric and self-deprecating. "You see how I deceive the public," he once said, winking at me, as he described the simplicity of his painting technique. The studio seemed to be a place out of time, with 1920s girlie postcards thumb- tacked to the rafters, bits of canoe paddles tossed here and there, and all those paintings -- hundreds of them, some of them painted last week and some dated in the 1950s. Whenever I talked to him -- and I was there plenty of times over the years -- I came away dizzy, having learned something startlingly new from Tom's inexhaustible mind. He delighted in telling stories, referencing artists I had never heard of, and challenging me to reach higher in my craft. He's gone now. He died on Feb. 17, 2005, at the age of 83, sitting comfortably in his favorite wing chair. He had been frail for several years. I guess he figured it was time to go. That rambling shack of a studio must be very, very quiet now. Of course, no one else could ever live there. An icebox in winter and a broiler in summer, it will have to stand empty. The life-size black metal sculptures will remain in the yard, as haunting as ever, and the accumulated magic of Tom's 70 years as an artist will still be soaked into every weather-beaten pore of the building. But the man himself won't be there anymore. He's moved on, into the memories of everyone who crossed his path. And, in that way, he'll live forever.

One of Bostelle's landscapes, inspired by the Pennsylvania countryside.

A female figure reaches out in supplication. Bostelle created the image by painting the background white and leaving the bare wood as the figure.

Bostelle used his own profile in many of his shadows. Here, he's a desperado.

Tom Bostelle and Tania Boucher in the shadow sculpture garden (1992).

'Pale Riders' (1951)

The Bostelle Trust

Tom Bostelle established the Bostelle Trust for two purposes: first, to preserve and disseminate his work; and, second, to preserve and encourage the use of the Aeolian Palace, a former dance hall, a Chester County landmark on the Brandywine River, and Bostelle's studio for almost forty years. The trust sponsors sales and shows of Bostelle's paintings, drawings and sculptures, and attempts to place pieces in museums and public institutions with art collections. In addition, the trust hopes to be involved with the preparation of a large retrospective show of Bostelle's work at one or more local museums in the near future. Finally, the trust provides a focal point for collectors and others who are interested in Tom Bostelle's life and work. A holiday sale of Bostelle's work will be held by the trust at the Aeolian Palace Gallery in Pocopson, PA on Saturdays in the fall of 2007. Anyone interested in the trust and its aims should contact one of the trustees: John Chambless (jacham1@excite.com) Mary Heath (heathmb@gmail.com) Warren Hope (hopefifthseason@aol.com) Thank you.

Click picture above to see a great collection of Bostelle works: www.bostelle.com

A shadow self-portrait.

Click picture at right to see exhibits on Page 3

Click picture at right to see 'A History' on Page 2